Right-to-Work Laws

 

Issue Overview

Right-to-work laws allow employees to decide whether to join or financially support a labor union. Proponents of right-to-work laws argue that right-to-work states attract more jobs than states that are not right-to-work. Opponents argue that allowing workers to opt-out of paying union dues while still benefiting from union collective bargaining and representation is unfair.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the union membership rate — the percent of wage and salary workers who are unions members — of 11.1% in 2015 is almost half of the 20.1% rate reported in 1983. When taking public-sector union membership out of the equation, union membership in the private-sector drops to only 6.7% in 2015.

Beginning with Florida in 1944, states began outlawing mandatory membership in labor unions, either by an amendment to the state constitution or by statute. By 1947, 11 states had passed right-to-work laws. These early right-to-work laws were supported by a changing U.S. Supreme Court, which increasingly permitted regulation of the employment relationship, including a decision specifically upholding the concept of statutory right-to-work. Finally, in 1947, right-to-work was enshrined in the Taft-Hartley Act. Section 14(b) of this law guarantees the right of individual states to enact right-to-work laws and has been broadly interpreted by the Supreme Court.

In the last several years, labor unions have lost battles in the midwest as Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin all became right-to-work states. Now, as right-to-work expands, unions could continue to see their membership numbers fall.

 

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